#Microsoft still hasn't published the findings of a review on how mass surveillance and targeting of people in #Palestine by #Israel are based on Microsoft #Azure cloud services.

A follow-up open letter by @7amleh, #AccessNow, #AmnestyInternational, @eff and @fight:

»We were made aware that the law firm retained by #Microsoft has already completed its review. Yet, Microsoft has neither released its findings as publicly promised nor responded to our earlier inquiries regarding the steps it has taken — or intends to take — to halt and prevent its contribution to international law violations perpetrated by the Israeli government and its military in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).«

https://www.accessnow.org/press-release/joint-letter-to-microsoft-regarding-israeli-military-use-of-azure-cloud-and-ai-services/

Zambia canceled RightsCon days before launch, citing national values, amid reports of pressure over Taiwanese participation and foreign influence. 🌍
The move raises concerns over civil society space, free expression, and digital rights under growing state and geopolitical pressure. 🔐

🔗 https://www.techpolicy.press/rightscon-canceled-after-zambia-requires-full-alignment-with-national-values/

#TechNews #RightsCon #Zambia #DigitalRights #AccessNow #HumanRights #Cybersecurity #Privacy #Surveillance #FOSS #Freedom #Censorship #Internet #Policy #Tech #Politics #China #Taiwan

Interventionism doesn't necessarily mean military action. Sometimes it can be a vassal state situation, whereby the true holder of power gets to veto the peoples rights to organize and congregate.

That #Taiwanese were in attendance means nothing. The fact that a foreign nation state actor got to decide how #Zambian people congregate means everything.

Advocacy group #AccessNow says major human rights conference was canceled after Chinese pressure on #Zambia
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/advocacy-group-access-now-says-major-human-rights-conference-was-canceled-after-2026-05-01/

The #Chinese Government Just Got the World’s Largest Digital #Rights Conference Canceled

#AccessNow , the group that organizes #RightsCon , says #Zambian officials asked it to exclude #Taiwanese participants if it wanted the event to proceed as planned.
#zambia #China

https://www.wired.com/story/the-chinese-government-pressured-zambia-to-cancel-the-worlds-largest-digital-rights-conference/

#China Pressure Canceled World’s Largest Digital #HumanRights Conference

The #Chinese government pressured #Zambia to cancel #RightsCon , the world’s largest digital human #rights conference, at the last minute, accordingto the conference’s organizers. #Beijing was upset that the speaker’s list included prominent figures from #Taiwanese civil society, #AccessNow , the group that organizes RightsCon, wrote Friday.
#privacy #security

https://www.404media.co/china-pressure-canceled-worlds-largest-digital-human-rights-conference/

Die Digital- und Menschenrechte Konferenz #RightsCon bringt jedes Jahr an wechselnden Orten tausende Menschen aus der ganzen Welt zusammen,. Dieses Jahr sollte Sambia dran sein. Doch die Regierung dort hat die Konferenz jetzt wenige Tage vor Beginn untersagt.

https://www.techpolicy.press/rightscon-canceled-after-zambia-requires-full-alignment-with-national-values/

Diese Entwicklung ist auch ein Ausdruck der immer stärker werdenden Angriffe auf Zivilgesellschaft. Volle Solidarität mit allen Betroffenen und insbesondere den Organisator*innen bei #AccessNow.

RightsCon, one of the most important conferences world-wide at the intersection of human rights and technology, has been "postponed" by the government of #Zambia, only days before it was to begin.

The conference was preparing for 5,000+ participants, about 3,000 of them in-person. Many of them have already begun their travel.

Beyond the suppression of a conference under flimsy pretenses, there will also be a considerable financial impact on its organizers at #AccessNow @noybeu, an international not-for-profit organization.

If you can afford to support them to cope with the damage done, consider a donation at

https://act.accessnow.org/page/175520/donate/1

#RightsCon #RightsCon2026 #HumanRights #Converence